Restoration work on Prague’s famous medieval Astronomical Clock at the
city’s Old Town Hall has revealed hidden secrets; a number of objects
which were placed in the tower by former restorers. The discovered objects
include small stone statues of animals and a letter hidden in the hollow of
the statue of St. Thomas, which was left there in 1948.

Last April the clock was removed from the tower for its most extensive
renovation to date. While the medieval clock was being taken apart in a
workshop, restorers searched the tower for a secret chamber they believed
might be hidden behind the Astronomical Clock.

Although they failed to find any hidden opening, they came across other, no
less interesting discoveries. One of them is a 1948 newspaper and an
18-page letter hidden in the hollow of the statue of St. Thomas by sculptor
Vojtěch Sucharda. Restorer Jiří Matějíček describes how the discovery
was made:

“The statue was lighter than the other ones. We wanted to find out
why,
so we tried knocking on it and found out that it was hollow. We had an
X-ray made and based on the X-ray we drilled a hole into the statue and
discovered a case hidden inside.”

Vojtěch Sucharda was the author of the twelve wooden statues of the
Apostles, which replaced the original ones destroyed by a fire at the Old
Town Hall in 1945. In his letter, Mr. Sucharda expressed his disappointment
over the outcome of a dispute with conservationists.
During the renovation he pushed for the removal of some of the statues that
were added to the clock in the 1940s, which were gifts from citizens and
had no link to Prague, but his idea was rejected.

Prague’s Astronomical Clock, photo: Kristýna Maková
The renovation work also revealed several small stone statues of animals,
including a dog, a bird of prey and an owl, which restorers believe date
back to the 15th century. René Tikal says they might belong among the
original elements of the Astronomical Clock.

“The statues probably are the oldest elements of the
Astronomical Clock. But when we took samples we could see that someone must
have treated the statues in the past, so it will be very difficult to
establish their real age.”

All the artefacts discovered during the renovation work are set to undergo
a detailed analysis. Restorers will also place a new message for future
generations into the tower.
If everything goes according to plan, Prague’s famous Astronomical Clock
is expected to return to the Old Town Hall by the end of August.